As the article that was referenced in the previous post... if the eco-friendly mantra is, "reduce, reuse, and recycle" then what is better: keeping a fuel efficient, well-maintained non-hybrid vehicle vehicle for a long period of time, or buying a new vehicle every five years and then trading eventually for a hybrid? What type of carbon footprint does the manufacture of a vehicle leave and how does it impact the environment?

Trading in a large truck for a hybrid does make decent sense especially if you want to stave off higher gas prices... but the overall improvement on the environment can probably be best done on the local level - imagine how much cleaner the skies of LA or Denver could improve if everyone drove non-emitting vehicles within city limits!

But in my specific experience... driving my constantly maintained Ford Escort for 14 years does much better on the environment than plunging on a hybrid that realistically only gets you 15mpg better on the highway... and as for now out here in Okinawa, I drive a 3cyl Daihatsu (http://www.cars-directory.net/specs/daihatsu/mira_gino/2000_7/) and I typically get greater than 35mpg on a gallon of gas - and that's city driving!